Ready to go: Music & media

Group, Sep/Oct 2000 by Belknap, Bryan

britney spears

song: "Lucky" (from oops!.. I did it again)

theme: Need for God

synopsis: "Lucky" is rich, famous, and unhappy.

background: This bubble gum album from everybody's favorite little Baptist girl (I don't remember girls like her at Baylor!) set the single-week sales record for female artists. Spears' songs wrap the typical hopes, dreams, and fears of a teenage girl in toe-tapping, lip-smacking pop music. She coos about teen love (the insecurity, hurt, excitement, and mistakes) in simple and realistic terms, and even though she sometimes dresses provocatively, her songs don't speak of sex (unlike most pop music's rampant sexual innuendo). This album doesn't take Spears any closer to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it will take her music into millions of CD players across the country.

study: Have kids form groups of four. Play the song.

Ask: Do you think you would be happy if you were rich and famous? Why or why not? If you could be anyone in the world, who would it be? Read aloud Ecclesiastes 2:10-11.

Ask: What makes life most meaningful for you? What things are you pursuing that are meaningless and what meaningful things can you pursue instead?

jake

song: "I'm OK" (from Jake)

theme: Death

synopsis: A dying friend says she's "OK" because she's going to a better life.

background: Toby, Marty, and Josh, Canadian-American brothers, make up the pop trio Jake (their dad's name). With silky vocals and slick production, they sing about diverse issues of faith. From seeking God on "Melt Me" and "Believer" to needing God on "Waiting" and "Right Time," the brothers sing about faith in a clear-eyed way. They see life in God as the answer but allow for the times of questioning when life is tough or when God seems absent. Amazingly, Jake brings spiritual weight to its pop candy confections.

study: Have kids form groups of three. Say: This is a song that's based on the actual words of someone dying of leukemia. Play the song, then ask: If you were dying, could you be that positive? Why or why not? If someone close to you has ever died, how did you feel at the time? What effect did your faith or lack of faith have on how you felt? Explain. Read aloud 1 Corinthians 2:7-10. Ask: If you were dying right now, what would be the hardest person or thing for you to let go of? What would help you the most to accept death? What's one thing you imagine that God has ready for you in heaven?

popular

A new TV season is upon us (no more reruns!), and one returning series hopes to build on its, umm.... popularity. Popular, on the WB, was the #1 new TV show for teenage girls. Sam, a journalist, and Brooke, a cheerleader, hail from opposite sides of the social barrier, but their polar lives collide when their parents begin dating. The show revolves around popularity-who has it, who wants it, and what people do to get it.

Although Christian artist Kendall Payne sings Popular's theme song, the show itself doesn't present Christian values. It does present the teenage experience in an honest way, however-especially the struggles young people face in dealing with cliques and popularity issues. Christians are called to love everyone as Christ loved us, popular or not, but calling and reality are often light years apart. Help your teenagers explore how they might change the popularity "rules."

Play the opening (videotaped) credits from the show 9r the theme song "Supermodels." Ask: What's the wildest thing you've heard of someone doing tobecome popular? What makes someone popular at school? In your opinion is popularity good, bad, or indifferent? Explain. Read aloud 1 John 4:7-11. How does loving others affect cliques and popularity? What would make the lines between the popular and unpopular blur? How can you help make that happen?